Tag Archives: Penderyn

Our Whisky Ladies explored an evening of finishes… moving from Speyside to Wales to explore the affect of Madeira on whisky… Here is what we discovered…

Penderyn Madeira 46%

Nose – When freshly opened had a bright sharpness, metallic, then shifted into a perfume – rose and other flowers, then fruity, then the wood came to the fore followed by a nice nuttiness of chestnuts, shifting further to a chewy gummy bear, from candy to creme brûlée

Palate – Fruits and spice, some tannins, with a lovely slow progression, an nice understated but interesting character, some dates, toffee and cream

Finish – Cotton candy, then toffee and a hint of vanilla

We really enjoyed this one! One of the few times it was absolutely a unanimous “thumbs up!” We found it very drinkable, feminine, with enough going on to keep us engaged.

I set it aside and revisited after sampling all unusual finishes of the evening. What did I find? An initial whiff of sweet varnish, then a lovely candied toffee, vanilla… simply yum!

This is another you can find at some duty free or, if you picked it up from the Whisky Exchange in the UK, it would set you back approx £40.

In short, a beautiful whisky! What a treat to return to a familiar friend…Those who once upon a time treated the Lagavulin 16 as a bar ‘staple’ were reminded of why that is the case – its ability to have balanced peat and sweet.

And how did the Lagavulin fare with the cigar? A contrasting pairing, with the whisky the predominant note.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming on quality whiskies, somewhat serious reviews and general pontificating to introduce you to a fine Bombay tradition – the BAR NIGHT.

Now, what you may say makes ‘Bar Night’ here any different than another part of the world?

I’m so delighted you asked!

You see we have a fine colonial tradition of ‘gym khanna‘ in these parts… bastions for a certain sort that once upon a time some were frequented by those mad dogs and Englishmen.

Since then, membership at such clubs may still remain a privilege and yet from time to time a few of us ‘riff raff’ get invited into these rarified domains.

Enter ‘Bar Night’ where more sociable evenings happen opening the doors to members guests on a wider scale.

In our impromptu BMC version, we opened up the ‘Bar Night’ liquor cabinet of our host.

Let’s admit it folks – most of us with a prediliction for quality drams have our ‘jaanta’ (masses) cabinet with an assortment of ‘bar booze’ and then our special ‘reserved’ section hidden away from prying eyes.

Helps avoid those gasps of dismay where a crazy expensive rare single malt is shocked with a bucket of ice or horror of all horrors drowned in soda or some other fizzy substance that has no business going near a prime whisky!

Don’t worry, I haven’t gone all crazy snobby, just some whiskies DO deserve a different sort of treatment.

This was one of those whiskies that took some time to get used to… Our 1st thought was “you can have a conversation about this whisky” but that didn’t necessarily translate into enthusiastic appreciation.

Yet at some point that shifted – about the time the nose took on a distinctive “banana cream pie” we found ourselves rather enjoying it. Funny how that happens sometimes…

As both our formal March and April monthly tasting sessions were cancelled, I started to poke around my ‘Whisky Archives’.

I stumbled upon old scribbled notes from when we tried three expressions from the same distillery (Penderyn) and closed with an Oban. I believe it was a 2011 tasting and there were no photos either so have relied on alternate sources (duly acknowledged). I found the tasting notes frustratingly ‘sparse’ – clearly drafted before I took the mantle of ‘chronicler’ seriously!

Welcome to Wales Wysgi

Little did we know we were about to be introduced to ‘wysgi’ from Wales!

Penderyn is found in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons. It has the distinction of being the only whisky distillery in Wales, launched in 2000 after the Welsh whisky industry was shut down in 1894. Penderyn whiskies are typically first aged in bourbon barrels – predominantly Buffalo Trace – and then finished in Madeira or other casks.

As always, our tasting was ‘blind’ followed by the reveal…

Penderyn Sherrywood NAS 46%

Nose – Jackfruit, perfumy, sweetness and light, honey, after a bit a hint of zesty lemon

Palate – Starts well, lovely on the palate however not much body, lighter than we were in the mood for…

Finish – Peppery but doesn’t stick around long or morph into anything further

Thoughts – Had the stamp of a bourbon cask with peat? Interesting but not something that really grabs you.

Penderyn Peated (Welsh-Whisky.co.uk)

We then shifted gear to a whisky perhaps double the age (or more!?) of the Penderyn expressions to the highlands with Oban.

Oban 14 year 43%

Nose – Spicy, fruity, orange peel

Palate – Spice, nutmeg

Finish – Lingers… finally!

Quote: “Early evening drink”

The last time I had the Oban 14 year I did not prepare any tasting notes. It was in Singapore late 2014 when I enjoyed an absolutely delightful evening at home with a gal pal. Nothing could have been a better dram for our mood, mad conversations, laughter and sheer joy in catching up after ages. It was indeed an early evening which grew into a later evening and the Oban kept us company all along.

Oban 14 year (Whisky Exchange)

Overall impression

When I look back on the scribbles, they seem a bit uncharitable. At the time, we were spoilt with a series of beautifully aged and balanced Scottish whiskies and were just starting to poke our nose and palate around newer entrants.

Contradictorily while our ability to discern nuances has increased, as a group we have also grown more adventuresome and open to the range of whisky styles. We no longer expect a whisky should be robust and instead delight in the more exquisite delicate notes too just as much as we embrace the peaty or sherry monsters out there.

We can now also put better into perspective more youthful whiskies and go through a re-calibration of ‘young, shows promise’ vs ‘erhm just doesn’t cut it for us’.

I’m also a massive fan of giving a whisky multiple tasting opportunities. Once is simply not enough. It would be interesting to revisit the Penderyn expressions to see what we would discover today. And I know the Oban is a favourite of a few.

If you would like to check out some ‘real’ tasting notes for the Penderyn expressions, check out: